World’s oldest male giant panda passes away at 35

An An, the world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity, passed away on Thursday at 35 after a series of health complications.

The panda was put down to alleviate further suffering, according to a statement from Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. The park’s chairman, Paulo Pong, expressed that An An’s “intelligence and playful spirit” would be deeply missed.

An An was gifted to the park 23 years ago by the Chinese central government, along with Jia Jia, a female panda who held the title of the world’s oldest giant panda before her death in 2016 at 38.

The beloved pair captivated millions of tourists and schoolchildren over the years, many of whom shared their memories of An An online Thursday through photos and videos.

In the wild, a panda’s typical lifespan ranges from 14 to 20 years, but they can live significantly longer in captivity, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Pong stated that An An’s longevity beyond the average lifespan highlights the theme park’s ongoing dedication to the care of giant pandas.

The park currently cares for two other giant pandas—Ying Ying, a female, and Le Le, a male—both of whom were given to the park by the Chinese government in 2007.

For over fifty years, China has worked to increase the population of its beloved pandas by establishing vast reserves across multiple mountain ranges to protect them from extinction.

While breeding giant pandas in captivity is notoriously challenging, their numbers in the wild have seen a positive increase in recent years after years of decline.

In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reclassified the giant panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” after their population grew by nearly 17% over the past decade. The Chinese government followed suit last year, recognizing the increase in the wild giant panda population to 1,800.

In China, pandas are regarded as an umbrella species, meaning that efforts to safeguard them are also seen as benefiting other species and the broader ecosystem.